


"I know you didn't ask for this." (Day 4)

by demiclar



Series: Fictober 2019 [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Cayde is mad, Zavala cooks, angsty Cayde
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demiclar/pseuds/demiclar
Summary: (Continuation from Day 3)Zavala and Cayde have a bit of a spat. Zavala does what he can to fix it. Cayde misinterprets the situation.





	"I know you didn't ask for this." (Day 4)

**Author's Note:**

> So if you didn't see in the summary, this is a continuation of the writing that I wrote for Day 3. If you haven't read that, you should probably read that one first, but if you don't feel like it, don't sweat it. Anyways, enjoy.

Zavala doesn’t speak with Cayde for the rest of the day. Or—more accurately—Cayde refuses to speak to Zavala for the rest of the day.

When Cayde leaves the Vanguard hall, he doesn’t come back. Ikora enters not long after he leaves, informing Zavala that Cayde had taken over strike duty for the rest of the day. When he gets a break, Zavala tries to apologize, making it as far as the door to the operations room before Cayde sees him through the large window looking out into the hallway beyond and promptly locks the door. He doesn’t respond to Zavala’s knocking, and refuses to even acknowledge the commander when he lingers at the window to watch the strike unfold. 

Of course, he can’t stay forever, and eventually retreats to the Vanguard’s hall to continue his usual paperwork. When he makes it back to his station, he pushes the Hunter from his mind, spending the day with Ikora as they comb through piles and piles of work.

When the workday finally drags to an end, Cayde misses their daily debrief without explanation, and doesn’t check in with him or Ikora after he finishes strike duty. When Zavala checks the Tower database before he heads back to their shared quarters, he finds the Hunter isn’t even in the Tower at all. 

He knew well enough that Cayde was likely at one of the many bars he frequents in the city, and he knew it wasn’t his place to follow.

Instead, he returns home and cooks dinner for himself and Ikora, and tells the Warlock all about his and Cayde’s little spat as they eat. Ultimately, they both recognize that Zavala was in the wrong for tuning Cayde out when he was legitimately offering advice, but to avoid him for the entire day seems a like bit of an overreaction.

Ikora retires early, wishing Zavala luck with Cayde, and offering to clean up, though Zavala thanks her, but kindly declines her offer. He puts away the leftovers in the container he usually leaves for Cayde, and washes the dishes leftover from dinner. Still, he stays up late, refusing to return to his rooms without speaking to Cayde and knowing that the Hunter has to return to at some point. With nothing else to do, he busies himself with getting ahead on the reports and requests flowing into his task list.

When the Hunter finally lets himself into the Vanguard quarters, it’s well past midnight. Zavala sits at a tall chair, drawn up to the breakfast bar in the kitchen, facing the entryway. He’d moved on from strike reports to crochet over an hour ago, having lost his focus. A half-finished blanket lay draped over the counter in front of him, a cup of warm tea set just beside it.

He doesn’t glance up from his work as the Hunter exits the entryway, looping and threading his blanket without pause. 

“Cayde.” He says, only when he moves to pass him. Zavala finally raises his gaze, but Cayde avoids him. He doesn’t slow, and Zavala sets down his project, standing from his chair as Cayde passes him.

“Cayde.” He says, his voice laced with authority that demands the Hunter’s attention. Cayde stills, the stairs that lead up to their rooms just halfway across the room.

“What, Zavala?” Cayde asks, not turning to face him as he stands in the middle of the living room. Zavala takes a few steps towards him, the exo still refusing to turn. 

“You know what?” Cayde says before he can speak, “I don’t need to deal with this right now.” He announces, daring a glance back at Zavala before taking off towards the stairs. 

“Cayde, stop.” Zavala tells him, rushing to follow him.

“No, you stop!” He snaps, whirling around to face him. “Look, I know you didn’t ask for this.” He says, and Zavala freezes in place at the pain and anger in his features. “I know you didn’t ask for me to be Hunter Vanguard. I know you didn’t ask for Andal to die and for me to be his replacement, but-“

“What are you talking about?” Zavala demands, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

Cayde opens his mouth to speak, then closes it, and Zavala quickly takes another step towards him.

“I don’t care if you aren’t Andal.” Zavala tells him plainly. He knows to be careful around the subject of Andal when it comes to Cayde, he only hopes the Hunter didn’t misconstrue his meaning. “You are an excellent Hunter Vanguard. I’ve never found your performance to be anything short of satisfactory.” He tells him. He knows the compliment isn’t much, but he rarely gives praise out of the blue, and finds himself unprepared to respond to the subject.

“Then why-“

He holds up a hand, silencing the Hunter quickly.

“I never meant to ignore you today.” He tells him, struggling to really articulate what he means. “I was simply lost in my own mind. By the time I realized, I had already missed what you had been trying to tell me.” 

Cayde crosses his arms, but says nothing.

“I am sorry, Cayde.” Zavala tells him. “I never meant to assert that you were not valuable to me. You are critical to this team. You, not Andal or the Hunters, but you.” 

There are a long few moments of silence between the two before Cayde murmurs a quiet thank-you. Zavala sighs, finally relaxing as he sees the pain and anger seeping from the exo’s features.

“Now, what was it you were trying to tell me?”


End file.
